Soooo, It's been quite a while since I have sat down to write and I miss it. Recently I have had the lesson about how life can literally change in an instant reiterated in my life. About 7 weeks ago I was in a fairly serious car accident. One moment I was driving to work down a semi-back road (they are usually safer, right???) and the next thing I know I am on a different road facing a different direction and there is pain. I know people's first thoughts in an accident are usually along the lines of "OMG!" Not mine. My thought was, "You've got to be kidding me. Someone needs to call Isaac and my mom. Oh and can't forget to tell the boss I won't be in today."
Let's back up a little bit. Before the accident, life was going pretty well. I was doing great at work and learning new things. My back pain was minimal and pretty stable. Husband and I had just gotten back from our anniversary trip to see Mickey (where else would we have gone?). We had booked our cruise for the week before Christmas and came up with a payment plan. My pups were sweet as ever and having a great time playing fetch at the puppy playground. Life was good.
Then I see something out of the corner of my eye and focused on this teenage boy's face with a look of shock as he is barreling toward me and careening into the front driver side of my car. **Insert info given above** At first I thought the kid had driven off. Apparently when he realized that there were at least 5-10 witnesses of road work crew right there, he pulled over in a drive way. My body instantly hated me and shortly there after I found myself being pulled out of my car and onto a backboard. They are less fun than they look. :)
As I'm lying in the ambulance, the EMT leans over me (mind you my head is strapped down to this board along with the rest of my body) and says, "Some guy just tore in here on a small scooter thing. Do you know him?" I laughed and announced that he was my husband. She responded, "What? You didn't want to be transported to the hospital on that?"
At the hospital I was poked, prodded, and drugged. Since then I have seen 3 different specialists and had 3 different MRI's. Next up: Nerve conduction tests (I can't feel much in my arm) and more nerve cauterizations. Yay for me! LOL.
I share all of this to say, "Life happens". One instant life is peachy. The next, you now have 2 herniated discs in your neck, have a lower back that's worse, and have almost no strength or feeling in your arm and it's turning funny colors. I could sit here and be cranky and all "woe is me", but I don't play like that. Yes, I have my down right painful and crappy days sometimes where I just can't muster a smile. It happens to us all. On those days where we have the strength to fight the "crankies" that come one, we have to fight with all our might. I was born a fighter. My body is messed up. I know that. The difference is, I'm not going to let these possibly life long issues (I say possibly because I'm waiting on my miracle) get me down and make me a cranky pants.
One of my awesome aunts sends me letters every so often. A few years ago she jotted something down on one of those cartoon with a saying notepad things you stick on the fridge. You know what I'm talking about. Well, this one had a great saying. "Put your big girl panties on and get over it." I laughed when I got it and she said she didn't even realize she sent it on that. I loved it and now apply it to as much of my life as possible. Everyday I have a choice. I can A) let the pain take over and catch the crankies OR B) Put my big girl panties on and take on the world.
Life can and will change in an instant. How bad that change can be partly depends on how you choose to deal with it. Today, I put my big girl panties on!
Showing posts with label life lessons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label life lessons. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Sunday, January 8, 2012
I didn't hear you, I'm deaf...or so they thought :)
So, as I was talking with my mother last night, I was reminded of a funny little thing that occurred during one of our race weekends. It was April of 2009 and we were going to our first Talladega race. (yes, the Talladega my sweet puppy boy was named after) If you know anything about Talladega, Alabama, then you know there is literally nothing there besides a track, a small gas station and a few hidden homes. If you go to the race; you either camp outside the track or stay in one of the towns 30+ minutes away.
Mom and I stayed in this quaint little town of Gardendale, AL. The day before the race we went shopping at some mall it took hours to find. Yes, we went shopping on this trip just like all our other trips (Surprise, Surprise). Well, after leaving the mall, we decided to stop and eat before going back to the hotel. There was some really run down, scary looking burger place or KFC. Not much of a decision needed to be made.
We went inside and ordered our food and went to sit and eat. It was rather chilly inside the KFC, so I decided to run out to the car real quick to grab a sweatshirt and avoid freezing while eating. As I walked out to the car, this other vehicle with occupants that looked like they might be from the hood pulled up right next to ours. They weren't exactly the crowd I felt like interacting with although they were trying to get my attention and ask for directions as I was leaning in my car to find my sweatshirt. After 5 seconds of not answering them, they became a bit more obnoxious. I decided to continue ignoring them as they seemed slightly intoxicated (slurred words and obnoxious).
As I was about to stand up from leaning into my car and walk back inside they honked the horn at me twice to get my attention as I was standing up. This really rubbed me the wrong way, so I decided to be a bit dramatic. I stood up and turned around to them with a complete look of shock on my face and said not a word. The driver who was now laughing because he finally got my attention began to ask me for directions. So I just kind of stared at him and used my ASL to sign that I was deaf and not hearing. I played off that I totally didn't hear/comprehend a word the dude said and signed that I was sorry, but that I didn't understand him. He and his friends all of a sudden got really quiet and bashful. I have never seen an obnoxious punk look that embarrassed. He started telling me he was sorry really loudly (as most people do thinking that will make the deaf hear them better) and threw his car into reverse and peeled out of that parking lot as quickly as he could.
I walked back into the restaurant laughing hysterically and told my mom all about it. That was probably one of the funniest things I have ever done to teach an obnoxious jerk a lesson. My ASL professor got a kick out of the story too the following week.
Lesson to be learned: never be an obnoxious dork to someone with a twisted sense of humor or you will likely be humiliated. Hope this little story brightened your day!
Mom and I stayed in this quaint little town of Gardendale, AL. The day before the race we went shopping at some mall it took hours to find. Yes, we went shopping on this trip just like all our other trips (Surprise, Surprise). Well, after leaving the mall, we decided to stop and eat before going back to the hotel. There was some really run down, scary looking burger place or KFC. Not much of a decision needed to be made.
We went inside and ordered our food and went to sit and eat. It was rather chilly inside the KFC, so I decided to run out to the car real quick to grab a sweatshirt and avoid freezing while eating. As I walked out to the car, this other vehicle with occupants that looked like they might be from the hood pulled up right next to ours. They weren't exactly the crowd I felt like interacting with although they were trying to get my attention and ask for directions as I was leaning in my car to find my sweatshirt. After 5 seconds of not answering them, they became a bit more obnoxious. I decided to continue ignoring them as they seemed slightly intoxicated (slurred words and obnoxious).
As I was about to stand up from leaning into my car and walk back inside they honked the horn at me twice to get my attention as I was standing up. This really rubbed me the wrong way, so I decided to be a bit dramatic. I stood up and turned around to them with a complete look of shock on my face and said not a word. The driver who was now laughing because he finally got my attention began to ask me for directions. So I just kind of stared at him and used my ASL to sign that I was deaf and not hearing. I played off that I totally didn't hear/comprehend a word the dude said and signed that I was sorry, but that I didn't understand him. He and his friends all of a sudden got really quiet and bashful. I have never seen an obnoxious punk look that embarrassed. He started telling me he was sorry really loudly (as most people do thinking that will make the deaf hear them better) and threw his car into reverse and peeled out of that parking lot as quickly as he could.
I walked back into the restaurant laughing hysterically and told my mom all about it. That was probably one of the funniest things I have ever done to teach an obnoxious jerk a lesson. My ASL professor got a kick out of the story too the following week.
Lesson to be learned: never be an obnoxious dork to someone with a twisted sense of humor or you will likely be humiliated. Hope this little story brightened your day!
Saturday, December 31, 2011
It's that time again
Yesterday, I sat down with my 2011 and 2012 calendars side-by-side. Every year I like to go through my old calendar and record any important dates from the old into the new. There are way to many birthdays and anniversaries among my family and friends to try and remember it all! During this process it's always interesting to see what has taken place over the last year. As I was going back through 2011, it was amusing to me to see what mood I was in by my handwriting for that month or weeks events. Sometimes it was nice and light and happy. Other times, I had that pen pressed so hard onto that page that marks were left on the next. Some days were filled with multiple exclamation points and others just plan matter of fact doctors appointments. This past year seemed to have a little of everything.
In January, I was undergoing some nerve cauterization in my back. I remember being nervous and excited all at the same time. There was hope that I wouldn't be dealing with most of my spinal pain at that point once the procedures were complete. Three days after the procedure I wrote "NO MORE PAIN!!!!" on the calendar. Having dealt with pinched nerves and having the feeling of a never ending electrical shock down my leg, I was ecstatic that after all the numbing wore off I felt fairly normal and was walking without a limp any more. 11 months later some of that pain has returned along with worsening of other complications in my spine. Someone asked me the other day if I regretted the cauterization of those 5 nerves back in January. When I looked back and saw the joy in my penmanship on that third day, I knew there were no regrets. The pain was almost completely gone for 9 months. I knew when I had the procedure done that there was always a possibility that my body would regenerate those nerves and they would probably get pinched from time to time, but it was still worth it.
February brought the celebration of our first anniversary of marriage. We brought out the top of our cake from the wedding and let it thaw out. All our friends had mixed reviews of their wedding cake a year later so we were excited to see how it turned out. We cut into our first slice and began laughing. For some reason they covered our top layer in, no lie, an INCH THICK layer of icing! There was only a small amount of cake under all that icing. We enjoyed a few slices and then threw it away. It was fun to look back at our wedding photos and honeymoon pics.
In March, I left a job for a new dental office with a steady schedule and better pay. Things were great at first until May came around and the doctor called me into her office. Apparently the office manager didn't like the fact that I was a jack of all trades and made her look bad. As she was crying and telling me it was the worst and most wrong decision she had ever made, the doctor released me from my job. I was a whirlwind spring and summer trying to collect unemployment and find a new job.
June came and with it the celebration of my 25th and gram's 66th birthdays. It's an amazing, indescribable thing to share your birthday with your grandmother. This year we decided to celebrate with the mouse! Mom, gram, Tracie and I all met down in Orlando and spent the weekend together. We spent our actual birthday at Disney World and what a joy it was to see the delight on my grandmother's face as we enjoyed all the rides. Don't think for a second that 66 slowed my grandmother down one bit! She kept up with us and was going strong from 9am until midnight when we left. Somehow, we even convinced her to go on splash mountain. As we got closer to the front, you could tell how worried she was getting about the big drop. All my mother could think about was my grandmother having a heart attack on her birthday, but gram went on the ride like a champ. Once we were done and soaking wet, you couldn't get gram to stop talking about how much she loved it and it was her new favorite ride. The fireworks show was an amazing end to the beginning of my 25th year.
July and August came and went and I was still looking for a job. To cheer me up, Isaac and took me back to see Mickey and then mom and I flew up to Bristol for the night race. It was Friday afternoon and mom and I were headed into town to see the Nascar Hauler Parade (a must see at least once in your life) when my phone rang. The number came from FSU, but wasn't my husband's. I answered and was asked to come in for a job interview the next week. I had my job interview on Tuesday and by Friday was starting my new job! August turned out to be a great month.
Around October, I noticed that my back pain was becoming more frequent and getting stronger. My doctors and I tried a few new things and saw a rheumatologist. The rheumatology tests showed nothing on their end and all of my docs agreed on sending me down to Shands next year. There is no reason that a 25 year old should be having multiple tears in the discs, a bulging disc, multiple herniations, along with the spinabifida, scoliosis, and arthritis in my lower back. I was tired of treating the symptoms and having to take stronger and stronger drugs to be able to attempt to live a normal life. We all agreed that Shands should (hopefully) be able to determine why my body is degenerating and possibly come up with ways to slow down the process and better control the pain. It hasn't been a really fun fall or winter to say the least, but things will get better.
We just got back from our Christmas vacation a few days ago. It was a great week visiting with our families and shopping with my mom. We got great gifts and the pups are stocked up on treats and rawhides for the foreseeable future (Spoiled grand pups!). Now it's time to take down the Christmas tree and pack away all of the Tinks for the year. This year, like may more to come, has had it's ups and downs. There are good days and down right crappy days. On the bright side, if the past is any indication of things to come; we know that no matter how blah life becomes, things will eventually begin to turn around.
Wishing you and yours a safe New Years Eve and blessed 2012!
In January, I was undergoing some nerve cauterization in my back. I remember being nervous and excited all at the same time. There was hope that I wouldn't be dealing with most of my spinal pain at that point once the procedures were complete. Three days after the procedure I wrote "NO MORE PAIN!!!!" on the calendar. Having dealt with pinched nerves and having the feeling of a never ending electrical shock down my leg, I was ecstatic that after all the numbing wore off I felt fairly normal and was walking without a limp any more. 11 months later some of that pain has returned along with worsening of other complications in my spine. Someone asked me the other day if I regretted the cauterization of those 5 nerves back in January. When I looked back and saw the joy in my penmanship on that third day, I knew there were no regrets. The pain was almost completely gone for 9 months. I knew when I had the procedure done that there was always a possibility that my body would regenerate those nerves and they would probably get pinched from time to time, but it was still worth it.
February brought the celebration of our first anniversary of marriage. We brought out the top of our cake from the wedding and let it thaw out. All our friends had mixed reviews of their wedding cake a year later so we were excited to see how it turned out. We cut into our first slice and began laughing. For some reason they covered our top layer in, no lie, an INCH THICK layer of icing! There was only a small amount of cake under all that icing. We enjoyed a few slices and then threw it away. It was fun to look back at our wedding photos and honeymoon pics.
In March, I left a job for a new dental office with a steady schedule and better pay. Things were great at first until May came around and the doctor called me into her office. Apparently the office manager didn't like the fact that I was a jack of all trades and made her look bad. As she was crying and telling me it was the worst and most wrong decision she had ever made, the doctor released me from my job. I was a whirlwind spring and summer trying to collect unemployment and find a new job.
June came and with it the celebration of my 25th and gram's 66th birthdays. It's an amazing, indescribable thing to share your birthday with your grandmother. This year we decided to celebrate with the mouse! Mom, gram, Tracie and I all met down in Orlando and spent the weekend together. We spent our actual birthday at Disney World and what a joy it was to see the delight on my grandmother's face as we enjoyed all the rides. Don't think for a second that 66 slowed my grandmother down one bit! She kept up with us and was going strong from 9am until midnight when we left. Somehow, we even convinced her to go on splash mountain. As we got closer to the front, you could tell how worried she was getting about the big drop. All my mother could think about was my grandmother having a heart attack on her birthday, but gram went on the ride like a champ. Once we were done and soaking wet, you couldn't get gram to stop talking about how much she loved it and it was her new favorite ride. The fireworks show was an amazing end to the beginning of my 25th year.
July and August came and went and I was still looking for a job. To cheer me up, Isaac and took me back to see Mickey and then mom and I flew up to Bristol for the night race. It was Friday afternoon and mom and I were headed into town to see the Nascar Hauler Parade (a must see at least once in your life) when my phone rang. The number came from FSU, but wasn't my husband's. I answered and was asked to come in for a job interview the next week. I had my job interview on Tuesday and by Friday was starting my new job! August turned out to be a great month.
Around October, I noticed that my back pain was becoming more frequent and getting stronger. My doctors and I tried a few new things and saw a rheumatologist. The rheumatology tests showed nothing on their end and all of my docs agreed on sending me down to Shands next year. There is no reason that a 25 year old should be having multiple tears in the discs, a bulging disc, multiple herniations, along with the spinabifida, scoliosis, and arthritis in my lower back. I was tired of treating the symptoms and having to take stronger and stronger drugs to be able to attempt to live a normal life. We all agreed that Shands should (hopefully) be able to determine why my body is degenerating and possibly come up with ways to slow down the process and better control the pain. It hasn't been a really fun fall or winter to say the least, but things will get better.
We just got back from our Christmas vacation a few days ago. It was a great week visiting with our families and shopping with my mom. We got great gifts and the pups are stocked up on treats and rawhides for the foreseeable future (Spoiled grand pups!). Now it's time to take down the Christmas tree and pack away all of the Tinks for the year. This year, like may more to come, has had it's ups and downs. There are good days and down right crappy days. On the bright side, if the past is any indication of things to come; we know that no matter how blah life becomes, things will eventually begin to turn around.
Wishing you and yours a safe New Years Eve and blessed 2012!
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